Sunday, February 10, 2008

My Favorite Sniglet

Sniglets are words "that should appear in the dictionary but don't." Even if you've never heard the term before, I'm sure you've created your own sniglets as inside jokes or shorthand. Typically, they are words or phrases that are quirky and sum up a whole idea in very little space.

Plus, they're fun. When I spent a summer abroad at an archaeological dig, we would sit in the trenches and come up with new sniglets all day (we were an exciting crowd). You can imagine how weird/crazy/dirty the words and definitions became after days on end in the hot sun...

However, there is one sniglet that I use all the time - and it's culinary! It's yorange - the white pithy strings that cling to an orange after you peel it. I hate those stringy things and will laboriously pick each one off as I eat my orange slices. The word just sounds perfect to describe those strings. As in, "I hate all the frickin' yorange that ruins the great taste of my snack!"

First runner-up: Cheetle - The orange residue left on fingers after eating Cheetos or some other cheesy snack. The word just sounds gross.

Elacceleration--the mistaken idea that pushing the elevator call button over and over again will make the elevator come faster. Similar to another one that I forget that involves pushing the crosswalk button again and again.

Gingus... the disgusting white sticky stuff that winds up in the corners of your mouth after you've gone to bed with too much lip balm on. Can also be used to describe any foreign, unidentifiable, smeary substance.

1. Olivefinger- the need to put an olive on each of your figers and eat them off of your fingers one by one.

2. Cheezcutrforgetr- leaving the pizza cutter in the pizza box and forgetting about it when you throw the pizza box away.

3. TermsOliar- The act of saying have read the terms of service when you have not.

4. Bedbackofobia- The fear of sleeping with your back to the room (when your beds against the wall) and that something will come out and get you if your not facing the room, in hopes that this something will think your awake if your facing it, when your really asleep.

5. Switchtheflik- The act of returning a rented movie to the store and getting a call from them later saying you returned the right movie case but the wrong movie.